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Honeymoon murder suspect loses UK appeals

By RAPHAEL SATTER Associated Press

Updated:
03/03/2014 01:28:21 PM EST

LONDON—Shrien Dewani, accused of arranging the murder of his bride on their honeymoon trip in 2010, faces extradition to South Africa within four weeks after his last appeal was rejected Monday by a British court.

Lawyers handling Dewani's case, which has drawn attention in both countries, have long fought extradition, arguing that the 33-year-old businessman's mental health is too fragile to allow his removal to South Africa.

Vinod Hindocha, whose daughter Anni was killed, said after the ruling that the family now hoped "to get the answers that we have been seeking for the past three and a half years."

Shrien Dewani is accused of hiring men to kill his wife and make it look like a botched carjacking in Cape Town's Gugulethu township. Two men—the cab driver and the triggerman—have been convicted over her murder, but her widower has denied wrongdoing and fought against extradition.

Though Monday's rebuff by London's High Court is the end of the line as far as the British court system is concerned, Dewani's lawyers haven't given up.

Speaking in court, attorney Mark Summers said that there was a possibility medical experts could produce new evidence that Dewani's condition was "chronic—incapable of being treated," which might mean he could be ineligible for extradition.

Barring that, British law requires that Dewani be sent to South Africa within 28 days.

Hindocha, speaking outside the High Court, said the drawn-out legal process had been torture for the family.